TRY TO REMEMBER

Creator of ‘The Fantasticks,’ Longest-Running Musical Ever, Dies at 95

The star librettist and lyricist penned the famed musical’s most lasting hit, the wistful “Try to Remember.”

Tom Jones, the lyricist and librettist behind The Fantasticks, the longest-running musical in theater history, died at age 95 on Friday, his family confirmed this weekend. He had been battling cancer at his home in Connecticut, Jones’ son told The New York Times. Jones wrote the book and lyrics for the show, which first opened in 1960 at the Sullivan Street Playhouse, an off-Broadway theater in New York’s West Village. The Fantasticks ran for an unprecedented 42 years—more than 17,000 performances—at the theater before shuttering in 2002. Jones’ most famous song, “Try to Remember,” the show’s dramatic opener, often transcended the musical, making appearances in The Muppet Show and even in blockbuster superhero flick Captain America: Civil War.